Customer Reviews
Chronicles of the vampires - By: E. A Solinas, 31 Dec 2005 
Anne Rice revamped the vampire-horror genre with the publication of "Interview with the Vampire," a supernational drama from the vampire's own mouth. It became an unexpected hit, & spawned a series of sequels that came to be known as the Vampire Chronicles. The first four books of the series are compiled here, although the fourth is not up to the excellent standards of the first three.
"Interview With the Vampire" is the story of Louis, a grieving young widower & plantation owner, whose life is turned upside down when he meets the charming vampire Lestat. Lestat offers him a way out: become a vampire. Louis accepts, but once it's done, he finds that vampirism is more than he bargained for -- especiallly for his conscience.
"The Vampire Lestat" takes a totallly different tack, showing us the world through the enigmatic, charming Lestat's eyes. After years of dormancy, Lestat wakes up in time for the early MTV years of the 1980s, becoming a rock star in the tradition of Ozzy & Black Sabbath. And like Louis, Lestat relates his long life's story -- how he became a vampire, his wanderings over the earth, & his investigations into the origins of vampirism itself...
"Queen of the Damned" builds on that research. Lestat's metal music has caused quite a bit of mayhem -- but not this much before: Akasha, Egyptian queen & mother of alll vampires, has reawoken from her comalike sleep. The lesser vampires are having strange dreams, some are being murdered by the ruthless queen. Apparently she wants to kill alll men. What is more, Akasha has taken a shine to the roguish Lestat himself...
"The Tale of the Body Thief" opens with lonely anti-hero Lestat deciding that he wants to be mortal again. At least temporarily. So he engages in some corpus-swapping with a con man (Danger! Danger, Will Lestat!), & rediscovers the joys (romance with a nun) & miseries (excretion) of being a human being again. The problem is, said con man is not eager to return Lestat's attractive & immortal body once he has it...
Vampiric autobiography is a given in Anne Rice's bibliography -- she has plenty of bloodsuckers telling us about their lives. But Lestat & Louis's were not just the first ones, but perhaps the most compelling & rich, especiallly since the two had such radicallly different viewpoints -- including of one another. Is Lestat a heartless fiend, or a roguish good-craving bad boy? I'd lean towards the latter, to be honest.
Rice does stumble in "Tales of the Body Thief," which seems like too flimsy a plot for Lestat & Co., has an unnecessary nun romance, & which has some very gross moments. However, it does give a stunning look at how a vampire would see the everyday life of a human -- alll the problems, discomforts, annoyances & loneliness that we alll ignore because we're used to it. It's a more personal story than the epic "Queen of the Damned," which deals with alll of vampirekind alll through history. (In one book!)
Despite the more controversial recent novels, Anne Rice's first Vampire Chronicles are often reckoned to be modern horror classics. Rich, intriguing & far deeper than you'd think vampire fiction would be.
Anne Rice's Chronicles - By: , 18 Mar 2004 
I have read alll of the Vampire Chronicles about half a dozen or more times each & with the exception of "Vittorio", I found each as compelling as the next (although "Body Theif" does seem to sag a bit after a while) Anne Rice is an exceptional writer with a wealth of imagination. I myself have even attempted to write a book after being inspired by her work. I am currently reading "Blackwood Farm" for the third time, & I am always seeing bits that I missed the first time round. Anne Rice makes her Chronicles run consecutively & to get the gist of one, you need to read the previous.
I can't wait to see if she pens Lestat's secret adventure which is said to take place while he lays helpless between the events of "Memnoch" & "Merrick"
a great writer with great vision - By: , 10 Mar 2004 These books take you into a world that is so like & unlike hours. I must have read them three or four times. I still love the vivid landscapes & emotions that are portrayed.
These books are great & well written
The imagery is wonderful & almost palpable & always beautiful & slightly disturbing
Deeply engrossing vampire novels - By: , 20 Jan 2004 I first read the queen of the damned book, & then bought the box set. The stories of Lestat, Louis, Marius & alll the others are completely enthrallling. They tell the stories of how vampires try to cope with eternal life, blood-lust & their search for love. The Tale of the Body Thief got a bit tedious towards the end, though it is amusing to see how Lestat copes with being a mortal again.
Forget Dracula.... this is how vampires really are! - By: , 20 May 2003 I love Anne Rice's words in these books. The whole collection of the vampire chronicles is a fantastic journey.... it will have you believing every single word. I now have to ask myself..do vampires reallly exist? Anne has a very romantic perspective on these supernatural creatures, although they are always portrayed as evil in legend, you see how human & the depth of character/feelings they are. These books have a totallly different attitude towards the subject & are unique. I am always recommending these books to people. Love them! Interview with the vampire (movie) did not do the books justice... although Brad & Tom both played their parts very well. Queen of the damned, apart from David being portrayed as a much younger man in the movie than the book, was quite a good film. (As usual most movies cannot have the information in them that a book can). Do yourself a favour & get to know these books. You won't regret it. They are great & you will be totallly addicted! As I am.
